Assessment of Recidivism Risk in Sex Offenders: A Pilot Study in Central Italy

Knowing the risk factors of recidivism in sex offenders is important in order to prepare effective preventative interventions and treatment in custody. In this regard, the following paper shows the results of a pilot study carried out in the prisons of central Italy in which 44 sex offenders participated. These participants were given the following tests: Historical Clinical Risk Management-20-version 3 (HCR20v3), Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and Personal Inventory Dimensional (PID-5). The results show a high positivity in the factors of the sub-scales H (historical factors) and C (clinical factors) of HCR20v3; the average total score of the PCR-L is 16.47, with five subjects who are in the “high psychopathy” range (X ≥ 30); with regard to PID-5, the most positive domain is negative affectivity (56.10%).

Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Activity in Individuals with Substance Use Disorders: A Case Control Study

Background Impulsivity and substance use disorders (SUD) can be related to the same environmental factors. In this study, we intended to evaluate the dopaminergic function in imprisoned SUD offenders through the determination of s-COMT activity. Methods The study included 46 male individuals from a Portuguese penal institution. The participants were assessed through a battery of standardised instruments: Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), Barratt Impulsivity Scale Version 11 (BIS-11), and the European version of the Addiction Severity Index (EuropASI). s-COMT erythrocyte activity was evaluated. Results Overall, 73.9% (n=34) of the individuals had Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and 58.7% (n=27) presented SUDs. We evidenced, for the first time, that, in SUD individuals, s-COMT activity is correlated with the severity of drug dependence (EuropASI) (p<0.05), and with BIS-11 factors self-control (p<0.0001) and non-planning (p=0.002). Conclusions This study opens new perspectives regarding the pharmacological intervention on drug dependence through the interference on dopamine pathways.

Investigating the Validity Evidence of the Swedish TriPM in High Security Prisoners Using the PCL-R and NEO-FFI

The triarchic model of psychopathy was developed to bridge opposing descriptions of psychopathy by separating the core construct in three domains; boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. The Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) operationalizes the model through a 58-item self-report questionnaire. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Swedish translation by investigating intercorrelations and associations to expert-rated psychopathy, general personality and psychopathy-related traits in male high-security prisoners (n = 191). Psychopathy rated with TriPM and the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) demonstrated expected convergence, as did empathy and impulsivity measures. The Disinhibition and Meanness scales were highly correlated, indicating that the scales might not be adequately differentiated. Nevertheless, the divergent association patterns to other important variables, particularly neuroticism and empathy, also points to meaningful differences. However, the lack of association between Disinhibition and Boldness may put into question if these domains are related at all, especially since there was a lack of similarity in the association patterns with other clinical variables. The influence of antisocial behavior in the TriPM operationalization might amplify the similarities of the Meanness and Disinhibition scales, while diluting the associations between Meanness and Boldness. In conclusion, the Swedish TriPM is effective in measuring the domains of triarchic model in forensic settings, even though a revision of the scales might improve the psychometric properties of the instrument.

A Link between Psychopathy Affect and Instrumentality in Homicide

This study tests the hypothesis that psychopathy is more associated with instrumental homicides than mixed and reactive homicides, and explores relationships between Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) facet/item scores and different forms of homicide: instrumental ( n = 130), mixed ( n = 103), and reactive ( n = 219) homicides. Instrumental homicides scored higher on facet 2 ( p < .01) but scored lower on facet 4 ( p < .1) compared to reactive homicides, whereas no facet scores differed between mixed and reactive homicides. Among the items of facet 2 (affective), remorselessness (item 6), and callousness (item 8) were predictive of instrumental homicide.

Psychopathy and Sexual Aggression: Management Implications

The current study explored the association between psychopathic traits and release suitability decisions and examined the role of Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and Static-99 in predicting general and sexual recidivism. The sample included 207 adult male sex offenders involved in the long-term follow-up at the Massachusetts Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Persons (MTC) in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Contrary to our expectations, PCL-R Factor 2 (Lifestyle/Antisocial) scores were positively associated with being selected for gradual release, whereas PCL-R Factor 1 (Interpersonal/Affective) scores were not related to parole boards’ decisions. Additionally, the interaction between the two factors was a significant predictor, suggesting that the individuals with more pronounced Factor 1 traits were less likely to be released when their Factor 2 scores were high as well. Although Static-99 scores predicted both contact and non-contact sexual recidivism, psychopathy was not related to reoffending, possibly because offenders with child victims were over-represented in the sample.

Intact prioritization of fearful faces during continuous flash suppression in psychopathy

Affective state recognition and in particular the identification of fear is known to be impaired in psychopathy. It is unclear, however, whether this reflects a deficit in basic perception (‘fear blindness’) or a deficit in later cognitive processing. To test for a perceptual deficit, 63 male incarcerated offenders, assessed with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), and 59 age-matched control participants detected fearful, neutral, and happy facial expressions rendered invisible through continuous flash suppression (CFS), a strong interocular suppression technique. Consistent with previous CFS studies on children, student and community samples, fearful faces were detected faster than neutral faces, which were detected faster than happy faces. Detection of emotional faces was unimpaired in offenders, with strong evidence for a full-blown fear advantage. Moreover, the fear advantage was not reduced in the 20 offenders qualifying as psychopaths according to the PCL-R, and there was no correlation between the fear advantage and PCL-R scores in the 63 incarcerated offenders. These results show that basic visual detection of fearful faces is unimpaired in psychopathy. Deficits in the processing of fearful facial expressions in psychopathy may thus not reflect fear blindness, but impairments at later post-perceptual processing stages related to attention, memory, decision-making, or language.

Prepulse Inhibition in Cocaine Addiction and Dual Pathologies

Cocaine addiction is frequently associated with different psychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder. A small number of studies have used prepulse inhibition (PPI) as a discriminating factor between these disorders. This work evaluated PPI and the phenotype of patients with cocaine-related disorder (CRD) who presented a dual diagnosis of schizophrenia or antisocial personality disorder. A total of 74 men aged 18–60 years were recruited for this research. The sample was divided into four groups: CRD (n = 14), CRD and schizophrenia (n = 21), CRD and antisocial personality disorder (n = 16), and a control group (n = 23). We evaluated the PPI and other possible vulnerability factors in these patients by using different assessment scales. PPI was higher in the CRD group at 30 ms (F(3, 64) = 2.972, p = 0.038). Three discriminant functions were obtained which allowed us to use the overall Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised score, reward sensitivity, and PPI at 30 ms to predict inclusion of these patients in the different groups with a success rate of 79.7% (42.9% for CRD, 76.2% for CRD and schizophrenia, 100% for CRD and antisocial personality disorder, and 91.3% in the control group). Despite the differences we observed in PPI, this factor is of little use for discriminating between the different diagnostic groups and it acts more as a non-specific endophenotype in certain mental disorders, such as in patients with a dual diagnosis.